1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of media file delivery, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses for marking and identifying media files to determine whether to deliver a commercial message in association with the media file.
2. Background Information
With the evolution of the Internet has come the increased occurrence of copyrighted materials being illegally copied and distributed. As a result, there has been development in the areas of copyright protection (or field of rights management), and transaction tracking.
Rights management refers to methods for the “secure” delivery of copyrighted material, such as music and film, to limit the number of illegal copies made and distributed. For instance, the recording industry (represented by the RIAA) has chosen to work with music delivery equipment manufacturers to develop a uniform means of secure delivery through the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI). Most companies associated with music distribution are involved with SDMI, a forum for agreement upon standard levels of copy security. Its current form allows a simple signing of a digital audio file to indicate that “no more copies” are allowed. A future version will introduce a standardized means of transmitting the “no more copies” indication along with other indications such as limited copying. SDMI is very restrictive in that it limits copying of even legitimately owned material to a finite number of times.
Transaction tracking refers to a method for returning information to the originator of the copyrighted material, such as the music distributor, production studio, artist, etc. This information can include the number of times a copyrighted material has been copied and/or listened to or viewed, and about who is the legal licensee of the recording. For instance, technologies exist that allow users who legally obtain copyrighted material to receive a version that is encrypted solely for that user. Copying the material to any other medium leaves it unusable. The purchase and distribution information is then passed back to the appropriate sources for billing.